Combination brush and sponge



Aug- 5, 1958 J. A. WISNER 2,845,644

COMBINATION BRUSH AND SPONGE Filed May 8, 1957 INVENTOR John (Z. Wiener" II II; I

0 BY 2W ATTORNEYS sides 12 and 13 connected by 2,845,644 CGMBINATION BRUSH AND SPONGE John A. Wisner, Baltimore, Md. Application May 8, 1957, Serial No. 657,960 2 Claims. '(Cl. 15-114) The present invention relates to a combined brush and sponge of the type used in scrubbing and cleaning operations.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a combined brush and sponge incorporating the advantages of each with the additional advantage that the brush and sponge can be used simultaneously for scrubbing the same surface.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined brush and sponge in which the brush bristles and the sponge are so arranged that the bristles can be used alone, the sponge can be used alone, and the brush and sponge can be used simultaneously.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the class described above in which the bristles are arranged to reduce the spray-back of water from the bristles as they are scraped to remove excess water therefrom.

A still further objection of the invention is to provide a combined brush and sponge which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use, and which provides a cleaning action not heretofore available.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the invention taken from the side opposite to Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the invention.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal crosssection taken along the line 4--4 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse cross-section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference numeral indicates generally a combined sponge and brush constructed in accordance with the invention.

The combined sponge and brush 10 includes an elongated generally fiat handle 11 having spaced parallel a perpendicularly extending rear wall 14 at one end having an arcuate nose 15 at the other end. The handle 11 has a flat upper wall 16 and a flat lower wall 17 extending parallel thereto.

The sides 12 and 13 of the handle 11 are provided with longitudinally extending grooves 18 and 19, respectively, to serve as a finger grip. The flat lower surface 17 of the handle 11 is provided with an upwardly and forwardly tapered forward end portion 20 underlying the rounded nose 15.

An artificial sponge 21 formed of cellular plastic material has a generally rectangular shape including spaced parallel upper and lower surfaces 22 and 23, respectively, spaced parallel longitudinally extending side surfaces 24 and 25, respectively, connected by a rear wall 26 extending perpendicularly therebetween. The sponge 21 United States Patent 2,84 ,644 ice 5 Patented Aug. 5, 1958 is provided with a forwardly and downwardly sloping front wall 27 as best seen in Figures 2 and 4.

The sponge 21 has the upper surface 22 thereof adhesively secured to the lower surface 17 of the handle 11 from a point adjacent the upwardly and forwardly sloped forward end portion 20 to the rear wall 14. The sponge 21 has the rear wall 26 thereof spaced beyond the rear wall 14 of the handle 11 to provide an extension 28 projecting beyond the handle 11.

The side 24 of the sponge 21 is arranged in parallel relation to the side 12 of the handle 11 in inwardly offset relation thereto. The side 25 of the sponge 21 is arranged in aligned relation with the side 13 of the handle 11, as can be 'best seen in Figure 5.

A plurality of bristle tufts 29 are secured to the handle 11 extending downwardly and sloping forwardly from the lower surface '17 of the handle 11 in close proximity to the side 12 of 'the handle 11 and to the side 24 of the sponge 21. The bristle tufts 29 are normally spaced above the lower surface 23 of the sponge 21, as is best illustrated in Figures 1 and 5. The bristle tufts 29 are arranged in aligned relation parallel to the side 12 of the handle 11.

Bristle tufts 30 somewhat longer than the bristle tufts 29 are secured to the handle 11 in downwardly and forwardly sloping relation projecting from the upwardly sloping portion 20 of the bottom surface 17 thereof. The bristle tufts 30 underlie the arcuate nose 15 and extend from the side 12 to the side 13 of the combined brush and sponge 10. The bristle tufts 30 have their lower extremities 31 in a plane between the surface 23 of the sponge 21 and the lower ends of the bristles 29.

In the use and operation of the invention, with the surface 17 of the handle 11 held parallel to the surface to be scrubbed, the lower surface 23 only of the sponge 21 is in contact for scrubbing action. The bristles 30 can be brought into contact with the surface to be scrubbed by tipping the handle 11 forwardly or by pressing hard enough on the handle 11 to compress the sponge 21, which is relatively easy when the sponge 21 is wet. Additional pressure on the handle 11 will bring the bristles 29 into contact with the surface to be scrubbed. The extension 28 of the sponge 21 can be brought into cleaning contact with a flat surface, corners, grooves, and other irregular surfaces without contacting the bristles 29 or the bristles 30 with the surface to be cleaned.

When a scrubbing action is desired without using the sponge 21, the handle 11 can be tipped forwardly to lift the surface 23 of the sponge 21 out of contact with the work while maintaining the bristles 30 in contact with the work. The side 25 of the sponge 21 being arranged in alignment with the side 13 of the handle 11 can be used in corners and other hard to reach places where cleaning action is desired.

The forward slope of the bristles 29 and 30 serve two distinct functions, one of which is to tend to feed fluid forwardly toward the rounded nose 15 and the bristles 30, and the other to eliminate spray-back when pulling the bristles 29 and 30 across a scraper to remove excess water therefrom. The sloping surface 27 on the sponge 21 assists in maintaining the bristles 30 in their forwardly sloping position eliminating the disarrangement of the bristles normal in scrub brushes.

The combined brush and sponge 10 provides a cleaning implement which can be used for virtually all scrubbing and cleaning operations without exchanging one implement for another.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning implement comprising a handle having a flat lower surface terminating in an upwardly sloping forward end portion a generally rectangular sponge block adhesively secured to the flat lower surface of said handle rearwardly of said upwardly sloping forward end portion, said sponge'having one side thereof spaced inwardly from one side edge of said handle and the other side thereof aligned with the other side of said handle, said sponge extending rearwardly beyond said handle, a plurality of downwardly and forwardly sloping bristles secured to said handle adjacent the inwardly spaced side of said sponge,

arranged in supporting relation to said last named bristles.

adhesively secured to the flat lower surface of said handle rearwardly of said upwardly sloping forward end portion, said sponge having References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,286,693 McPhee Dec. 3, 1918 20 2,738,529 Bernet Mar. 20, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 175,612 Switzerland Sept. 16, 1935 

